The TomandKunit Chronicles
by Sydd
Summary: Tom's being targeted by terrorist organisations, so he's being temporarily looked after by someone who can protect him until the threats are eradicated. After Snakehead. As the title says, includes K-unit. I don't own the series. I'm just a crazy fan. On Temporary Hiatus.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: Tom's being targeted by terrorist organisations, so he's being temporarily looked after by someone who can protect him until the threats are eradicated. After Snakehead.**

**Hello, Syd here. I've noticed that there are a lot of fics on K-unit taking care of Alex, but not many on Tom, so enjoy the first chapter! This idea has been floating around my head for a couple of weeks now. If you want a specific K-unit member to take care of Tom, please review and tell me, or PM me! Thanks!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the series. I'm just a crazy fan.**

Chapter One

Tom groaned inwardly. Of all days, he had to be kidnapped on the day of his football match! It was an important match- the semi-finals. Kenneth Pullman would replace him, and honestly, he's not a very good midfielder. They'd definitely lose this season! Even if they did win –it would have to be some sort of miracle or some god that really liked them- he would miss out on the party that they would have. The coach promised them pizza and candy. _Pizza and candy! _He was going to stuff his face after the match, and then this idiotic moron _had _to ruin his grand plans by breaking into his house and holding his hostage. The phone had been ringing for an hour, but he refused to pick it up. Tom shook his head at his kidnapper's stupidity. The only way they could know that he was being held hostage and not sick, in a shower or in a jam was to _pick up the damn phone and tell them!_

"Hey!" Tom shouted to him, smirking inwardly. The guy didn't even gag him! He was definitely an amateur, and looked really anxious. He probably was confused at why the police haven't shown up yet. Tom was at advantage. He still could talk- and probably manipulate the guy so he could get help.

"What?" Mr Idiotic Kidnapper snapped.

"Who are you?"

"And why should I tell you?" Mr Idiotic Kidnapper sneered.

"Well, you wouldn't want me to call you 'Mr Idiotic Kidnapper' in my head forever, do you?" Tom asked innocently. Mr Idiotic Kidnapper glared at him, and in his rage, he wasn't thinking straight, and fell into his trap.

"My name is _Gerald Sampson_, which is a very nice name, not 'Mr Idiotic Kidnapper'!" he yelled, brandishing his gun in Tom's face.

"You think _Gerald Sampson _is a very nice name? Give me a break!"

Gerald narrowed his eyes as Tom, and laughed out loud. "You've got some nerve, kid. You think that you can distract me so you can escape somehow and overpower me? I'm not stupid, boy, that's what happened to my partner with your best friend Mr Rider. When Mr Rider gets his butt here with the money I wanted to set you free, I'm going to kill you both and get away!"

Tom raised an eyebrow. "And did you even _tell _Mr Rider to get his butt here with the money?"

Gerald's eyes widened in surprise, and swore loudly before muttering about teenage boys with big mouths. "So, if you think you're so smart, tell me how to contact Rider."

_Victory! _Tom rolled his eyes and looked at the phone. "Pick the damn phone up and tell them, dimwit."

Gerald glared at Tom again. "Don't call me that."

"Dimwit," Tom said at once.

Gerald ignored him and picked up the phone.

"TOM HARRIS, GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE RIGHT NOW! WE'VE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU FOR AGES, AND THE GAME STARTED FIVE MINUTES AGO! KENNETH IS REPLACING YOU NOW, AND IT'S NOT LOOKING GOOD! WHY THE HELL HAVE YOU NOT TURNED UP?" Someone yelled, and Tom guessed it was the coach. Gerald winced and ripped it out of his ear, glaring at the phone as the coach swore, yelled and ranted. When the coach was out of breath, Gerald spoke.

"I have no idea who you are, but let me tell you this. Mr Harris is now my hostage, and I want you to tell Mr Alex Rider that if he does not turn up at Harris's house with a million dollars in half an hour, I will kill the boy," Gerald spoke icily, and Tom imagined the coach paling. Tom heard shouting but Gerald cut the call. He smirked evilly at Tom. "They will come for you," he said proudly. Tom shuddered. Was this how Alex felt when he was captured? Tom looked around the house. Nope, nothing he could use to escape. Gerald had shoved him into a chair in the kitchen and tied him up. The fridge was right in front of him, and he felt extremely hungry. He stared at the fridge longingly, imagining all the sodas and leftover pizza in the fridge. Oh, he was _so _hungry!

"I'm hungry," Tom proudly announced. Gerald whirled to stare at Tom. "What the hell? Shut up boy!"

Tom's stomach rumbled.

Gerald's face went red with anger, and chose not to say anything. Tom guessed that if he said anymore, Gerald might just kill him and pretend that Tom was alive to get the money anyway. Tom was laughing inside; if this wasn't a hostage situation he might have laughed out loud, but his life was at stake. Tom wanted very much to be alive.

Suddenly, Tom heard the faint crunching of tires and looked out of the kitchen window. He saw several police cars, three black cars (which obviously belonged to MI6) and even an SAS jeep. Tom's mouth fell open as four burly men clambered out of the jeep and together with the police and MI6 agents, they surrounded the house. Alex must have called back-up-but there was no sign of Alex himself.

Gerald swore loudly and held his gun ready. The phone rang and Gerald scowled. He turned his back on Tom, and seizing the opportunity, Tom started to wiggle around the ropes. Alex had taught Tom a thing or two about escaping from ropes, but he refused to take any chances and waited only until Gerald was not looking at him. Tom squirmed and turned, but the ropes were still tight.

Gerald was screaming into the phone, but Tom did not bother to eavesdrop. He had a mission- to escape from his chair and get the hell out of the house. Once he got out of the chair, he could crash through the kitchen window. Tom smiled. He could feel the ropes loosen. It was not much, but he was confident that he could break out anytime soon. If only he could just loosen it a bit more…

And that was when he heard the gunshot.

**And there you have it, the first chapter. It isn't much, because I'm trying to test out the idea. Once again, please R&R so I can decide if I want to continue it. Thanks!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! I'm back with Chapter Two. Thank you Jellie Smith for reviewing, and for all those people who put my story on their alert/favourite lists! I hope you'll continue reviewing and giving suggestions. Enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own the series. I'm just a crazy fan.**

Chapter Two

_Gerald was screaming into the phone, but Tom did not bother to eavesdrop. He had a mission- to escape from his chair and get the hell out of the house. Once he got out of the chair, he could crash through the window. Tom smiled. He could feel the ropes loosen. It was not much, but he was confident that he could break out anytime soon. If only he could just loosen it a bit more…_

_And that was when he heard the gunshot._

Tom's eyes widened and he moved faster this time. He wasn't taking any chances. Gerald most probably shot one of the police officers trying to get in, or even Alex who was idiotic enough to get caught (he WAS supposed to be the super spy) and was coming for him! He had to get out!

He broke free and got ready to crash out of the window when he heard a cry of "Tom!"

He spun around and let go of a breath he had not realised he had been holding as he saw Alex leaning lazily against the doorway. "Hello Tom. How're you doing?"

Tom could have cried there and then. He ran to the door and playfully punched Alex in the stomach. "You bastard, you could've got me killed!"

Alex, who was pretending to be winded, recovered and shrugged. "Sorry, comes with the job."

Before Tom could think of a comeback, Alex dragged him out of the kitchen, passing the body of Gerald Sampson at the kitchen doorway. Tom gaped at the unconscious body like a goldfish. He eventually settled for "Mum's going to kill us. The blood's stained the carpet."

Alex shrugged again and led him outside where the police where rushing in. In their haste, they forgot the two boys and they were quickly whisked away in an MI6 car, heading to the Royal and General.

In the car, Tom was bursting with questions.

"How the hell did you get in and shoot the guy?"

"Well, I used my super-ninja-spy powers to creep round the back, climb a tree, jump into your room, tip toe down the stairs and shoot Mr Idiotic Kidnapper."

"Hey, that was what I called him too!"

Alex rolled his eyes.

"What did the coach say?"

"He pretty much relayed the information to the referee. Only the referee and the opposing team know about this. The rest were told that there were some problems and were sent home. Coach was pretty worked up about it, and wanted to see us first thing tomorrow."

Tom shuddered. "God, Alex, what are we going to tell him?"

Alex shrugged. "I don't know; MI6 will think of something. Probably that it was a prank call and you were really just sick and forgot to call the coach."

"I'm not THAT stupid to forget to call the coach!"

"You have no idea. The last time you..."

"Shut up."

In a grey office in a certain bank, Alan Blunt and Tulip Jones were waiting for Alex and Tom to come.

"Are you sure about this, Mr Blunt?"

"I'm quite sure about it, Mrs Jones. I doubt they'll put up much of a fight, anyway. Mr Harris's family situation is chaotic, to say the least. He'll probably agree."

"But his parents won't like it."

"It's for Harris's safety. They'll think it's just a break, anyway. They want the best for their son."

The rest of the wait was passed in silence until the doors burst open and a fuming Alex Rider and his friend Tom Harris came into view.

"Care to explain why the late Gerald Sampson managed to hold Tom hostage?"

"But Alex, we never knew such a thing would happen." Blunt replied.

"But you at least should have put some kind of security around the area!"

"Alex," Mrs Jones cut in warningly, "what's done is done. We've got a proposal to make."

Alex raised an eyebrow, while Tom unashamedly stared at Blunt and Jones in awe. He was actually _meeting _the heads of MI6 in person! And Alex could get away with being _rude _to them!

"We've discovered a few more plans to kidnap Mr Harris to get revenge on you, so we've stepped up security in your house, and we plan on removing him from his parents' care to live with someone else who can protect him. We assure you, his new guardian will be more than able to protect him. He will stay there until all the threats have been eradicated. We will tell his parents that he will be staying at a friend's house for a couple of months. He will still go to school, but will be living in a different house."

Alex was speechless. They were assigning Tom a new guardian to protect him for an indefinite amount of time? He wasn't sure to be happy or angry. Sure, Tom got enough protection, but they were taking him away from his parents! _Well, it's not like he'll miss them anyway, _he added wryly.

"I'll do it," Tom announced. Triumph flickered in Blunt's eyes.

"But why?" Alex asked.

Tom rolled his eyes. It was true his friend could be a genius at times (in areas like self-preservation), but now he was just a complete idiot.

"I mean, I get protection, I escape from my parents and their stupid arguments; of course I'll go!" Tom explained, gesturing to prove his point.

Mrs Jones nodded. "Everything will be taken care of. You will leave to your new guardian's house two days later. A driver will be sent to pick you up, so you should start packing."

Alex nodded curtly and dragged Tom out of the office.

"This is so cool!" Tom exclaimed, receiving strange looks from some of the agents in their cubicles. "I mean, I can't believe I'm actually in MI6 HQ!"

Alex rolled his eyes. "It's not that special, Tom. This is a place where agents get sent to their deaths. You're lucky."

Tom gulped.

"Anyway, do you have any idea who my temporary guardian will be? I really hope it's not some boring MI6 agent."

"You should have thought about that before agreeing."

"Fair point."

They reached the lift, entered and waited for some agent to get off before getting in and the lift descended.

"Can I come over to see your new guardian too?"

Tom shook his head. "Nah, I don't think he'll like that. I mean, he's probably just annoyed that he's stuck with a kid. But I'll make him see how great I am."

Alex snorted. "Right. He will."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Alex ignored him.

They arrived at the lobby soon enough, and headed towards the doors.

"So, I'll leave you to pack then," Alex told Tom as they walked out of the bank. "See you."

"Bye, Alex."

**Okay, so that's the second chapter. Please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello everyone! I'm rather proud that I finally managed to squeeze in some time to write another chapter today, but then again, all my chapters are rather short. *sheepish smile* And I'm so sorry, I forgot the disclaimer. I've added it to the rest of the chapters too. And thank you Mazken for that long and helpful review! I think your suggestion's pretty good, and I shall go about updating the first chapter the next time, alrighty? Well, on with the show!**

**Disclaimer (Ha! I rememeber!): I don't own the series. I'm just a crazy fan. **

Chapter Three

_"Can I come over to see your new guardian too?"_

_Tom shook his head. "Nah, I don't think he'll like that. I mean, he's probably just annoyed that he's stuck with a kid. But I'll make him see how great I am."_

_Alex snorted. "Right. He will."_

_"What's that supposed to mean?"_

_Alex ignored him._

_They arrived at the lobby soon enough, and headed towards the doors._

_"So, I'll leave you to pack then," Alex told Tom as they walked out of the bank. "See you."_

_"Bye, Alex_."

Two days later, Tom was waiting anxiously inside his house. His mother was begging him not to go, while his father was telling him to have fun. Tom was so glad that he was leaving his house while Blunt and Jones took care of the terrorist problem. If he had to stand his parents' arguing for one more day, he would have ran away himself. Now, he was wishing for the driver to hurry up. They had told him that an MI6 agent would come and pick him up and drive to his temporary guardian's house. Tom sighed as his parents broke into another argument about their 'darling son'. If they loved him that much, then couldn't they _not argue? _It was so annoying_._

Finally, Tom heard the crunching of tires. He crushed his sudden urge to whoop for joy in case his parents would use that as an excuse for another of their arguments (it would seem unlikely, but they recently they had developed an unique ability to find fault with each other for whatever he said).

The driver got out, and Tom recognized him as the low-level, emotionless-mask type of agent who would do anything to impress the higher-ups. Tom had a gift of reading people, so he knew that behind that emotionless mask, the agent was unhappy that he had been assigned as a driver to escort him to his guardian's house. It was in his eyes; there was a flicker of annoyance and anger. The driver none too gently grabbed Tom's bags as his mother cried over him, and his father patted his shoulder as encouragement.

"Oh Tommy, it's never to late to say no! You know your mum is worried about you! I never knew you had a friend named John Watson! He's not a student in Brookland," his mother tried again. Tom rolled his eyes; he had explained it before: John Watson was a friend he had met recently and had invited him to stay with him for a couple of months. John Watson was just an imaginary person, but if his parents happened to drop by, Alex would disguise himself and play the part of John Watson at his guardian's house. Of course Alex wouldn't be staying there, so Tom would press a button on his watch to tell Alex to hurry to his house if his parents rang the doorbell. Alex would give the excuse that he went out for an errand, and Tom stayed at home with Alex's father (Tom's guardian) if he was around. It was all very complicated, so Tom made his parents promise that if they wanted to drop by, they had to call him an hour before so he could get ready.

"Leave him alone," his father said fiercely, "it's his choice, right Tom? He's free to do whatever he wants. After all, he's our _son_. Or maybe you don't remember anymore." Oh crap.

One.

Two.

Three.

"HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT! I AM HIS MOTHER-"

Tom sighed and shook his head, leaving his parents and walking to the car. They didn't even notice as he slipped into the car. He sneaked one last, sad look at the quarreling pair as the driver returned to the car and started driving. He wasn't going to come back until MI6 took care of the problem, and he felt both happy and empty at the same time. He felt like he was betraying his parents; he was leaving for his own safety and leaving them alone. Without him, they would become even more violent and would use his absence as an excuse to yell at each other. He would not be surprised if the whole house burned down by the end of the week.

Suddenly, the lock clicked shut, and the windows rolled down. Tom sensed something is wrong, and tried the door. No use. He caught sight of the agent grinning evilly as he spoke into a phone. "Target acquired, heading back to base." Tom's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. The agent was a traitor to MI6! He quickly slammed down on the panic button of his watch, which would alert the heads of MI6 and activate a camera and a voice recorder that would send live feed to them.

"Who are you?" Tom asked, scared.

The agent spared a glance at him, and he chuckled humorlessly. " I belong to an organization that Rider has just recently brought to it knees. We will not forgive him."

Tom quickly ruled out Scorpia; they were much more professional than this. He was not even knocked unconscious, and they didn't even bother to gag him. There was only one agent, and he was driving. Tom looked at the windscreen. The road was empty. There was a row of shops to his left. He had an idea. Tom waited for the right time before throwing himself at the driver and yanked on the steering wheel. The agent was shocked; he had not expected Rider's _friend_ to attempt heroics. There was a struggle, but Tom stubbornly held onto the steering wheel. At the last minute, when they were about to crash into a bookstore,Tom threw himself back and braced himself for impact. Like he predicted, the agent attempted to swerve right, and hit the neighboring shop where a mattress was put on display. The agent screamed as the car rammed straight into the mattress.

Tom felt a violent jerk and he was sent sprawling across the seat despite his preparations. The mattress cushioned their crash, but Tom was sure he felt bruising in his ribs. Another car drove and quickly parked at the side of the road. MI6 agents rushed out to extract Tom from the wreckage, and an ambulance came shortly after. Tom was going into shock as he was quickly lifted into the ambulance. The last thing he saw was MI6 agents pulling out the double agent's dead body from the ruined car before succumbing to darkness.

**Yes yes, I know you guys are all throwing rotten tomatoes at me and screaming 'Why is it so short!' or 'Where the hell is K-unit?' or maybe even 'Why on earth did you do that to Tom?' (Well, that was what my friend said anyway)**

**I swear, one of the K-unit characters **_**will **_**appear the next chapter. I've decided **_**not **_**to abandon this story EVER (it just takes time), because it's fun to write and I know how it feels to read a fic and when the exciting part comes, you stumble upon an author's note saying it's discontinued. **

**So, I apologise again to all disgruntled readers and implore you lovely people to wait for the next chapter for your beloved K-unit! And I'll try to write longer chapters. If you want, I can try to add on to the previous chapters but it'll take time. I'll inform you about any changes so if you want you can read the changed ones again. R&R please!**

**Love, **

**Syd**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys, this is chapter four! I've been busy lately, but I've managed to squeeze enough time now to update the next chapter! I've written more this time, so I hope you guys like it! **

**Before we begin, I'd like to tell you that after Snakehead, Alex goes on another mission about a guy named Daniel Brooke. I initially wanted the snakehead to kidnap Tom, but then again I'm not a snakehead expert so I don't know how they work. Anyway, enjoy the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the series. I'm just a crazy fan. **

Chapter Four

When he came to, Tom heard voices outside. He chose to pretend to sleep and eavesdrop. After all, he knew no one would actually tell him anything, so he might as well seize the chance to learn something they wouldn't tell him. He had the right to know- he _was _the one in a hospital bed.

"What the hell happened?" someone familiar yelled. Someone else started shushing the person (probably a disgruntled patient, doctor or nurse) and they began to talk quietly. Tom had to strain his ears to hear.

"One of our agents was a double agents. Remember Daniel Brooke, the contortionist, and his Organization? His followers wanted revenge for his death, and planned to kill everyone related to you. Tom, thankfully, was the first target so we had ample time to protect the rest of the targets on the list." Tom recognized the voice as Mrs Jones; she must have come to visit him and possibly debrief him. This was classified information, so they must be in St. Dominic's. He was amazed that the deputy head of MI6 would actually visit _him_, but he was Alex's best frien and a target for terrorist organisations worldwide. It certainly had its advantages. Maybe he could ask Mi6 for a new Wii, the old one was flung out of the window in one of his parents' arguments.

"Thank god he isn't dead," the first person replied. That was definitely Alex. Tom rolled his eyes mentally.

"True," Mrs Jones said. Tom had to repress a shudder. It was creepy to have Mrs Jones show _any c_oncern towards _anyone_, much less him. He barely spoke five words to her, except for his 'I'll do it'. Well, he _was _a civilian, so perhaps the government cared more about civilians than its own agents. But Alex was a civilian, and they let him get mixed up in all this…Urgh, it was confusing.

Then again, Mrs Jones was more human than that robot Mr Blunt. Tom smirked as he envisioned Mr Blunt asking him how his day was. He would be immediately thrown into a cell and declared an imposter. _That_ would be interesting.

Alex saw Tom smirking, and was by his side in an instant. "Tom!" he yelled.

"What the hell?" Tom groaned, rubbing his right ear. Alex grinned, and muttered a 'sorry', but did not seem sorry at all. Tom glared at him, and Alex cheekily replied, "Welcome back to the land of the living, my dear friend."

"Nice to see you too," Tom replied sarcastically. Alex's grin, if possible, grew wider.

"What happened?" Tom asked. He was _not _going to be caught eavesdropping. But then again, they weren't spies for nothing.

"You know already," Mrs Jones said flatly. Ah, the cold MI6 deputy head is back. She was sucking on a peppermint, as usual. Alex had told Tom all about her peppermint addiction. _I wonder what she'll do if I steal all her peppermints, _Tom wondered. _IF I can steal her peppermints, that is. She's probably got a whole vault of them under her house with state-of-the-art security systems!__ IF she has a house that is. I wonder if she sleeps at MI6 HQ. Maybe in her office. Or Blunt's office. Or maybe she sleeps with Blunt! OH GOD, that came out wrong…_

Mrs Jones cleared her throat; she had apparently been expecting a reply.

He grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, sorry." He was still trying to banish some _very _disturbing images, to no avail.

Alex waved it away, and shoved an OSA in his face. "You've got to sign this. I forgot to give it to you in school."

Tom looked away dramatically. "Oh, move the repulsive thing away from my dashing face this instant! _You_ sign it for me. You can forge my signature."

Mrs Jones coughed.

"What?" Tom said defensively, not getting the point at all, "he can forge perfect signatures!"

Alex paled considerably, and Mrs Jones choked on her peppermint before narrowing her eyes at Alex. "_You _were the one who forged my signature!" she accused.

Tom was confused; Alex forged Mrs Jones' signature? Why?

Alex glared at Tom before putting on an innocent face. "Hold it! Everyone at MI6 knows how to forge perfect signatures! Don't look at me like that! I swear I have _nothing _to do with The Incident!"

Tom raised an eyebrow.

Mrs Jones cringed at the mention of 'The Incident', and fingered a peppermint in her hand. She let out a rare huff, nodded curtly at Tom, before stalking out of the ward.

"What was _that _about?" Tom asked.

Alex glared at him again. "Nothing much, it's just that you _let something slip_. If she found out it was me who caused The Incident, I'll die. She swore in front of Blunt that when she caught the culprit, she would do something really horrible. I'm not even going to say what she will do." Alex shuddered. "She has one mean imagination. If she was on the _dark side, _she would be a wonderful torturer."

"What happened? What did you do?" Tom asked, interested.

"The Incident involved Mrs Jones, a crazy peppermint factory owner and his pet Chihuahua named Lauren Marie Lashvin," Alex winced. "The Chihuahua was the worst. I never knew something so innocent could be so…so," Alex thought for a moment, "_evil!_"

Tom smirked, and Alex narrowed his eyes at him. "If you say _anything _about this, you might just be accidently castrated by mysterious, powerful and unknown forces in the middle of the night."

Tom paled and shuddered. "Okay! Okay! Take it easy! Not a word!"

Alex nodded. "Good."

Tom hastily changed the subject. "So, where's my guardian? He should at least be nice enough to visit me and give me grapes, a bedtime story and a big hug in my nice and cosy hospital bed," he sniffed.

Alex rolled his eyes, pushing horrible images of The Incident to the back of his mind, "He's busy getting ready for your _arrival_, so he can't visit now. He's coming to get you tomorrow, when you discharge. It's a pity that I'll be in school. You know, he sounded familiar on the phone."

Tom thought about it. He _was _an MI6 agent, after all. How many agents did Alex know? So far, Tom had only heard about the supposedly pretty receptionist, the heads, Smithers the gadget maker and Ben Daniels, the SAS guy in his former unit who got seconded to MI6, saved his life and killed his traitor of a godfather. But if it _was _Ben, Alex would know, right?

"Good luck, mate. Your loyal defender won't be around to shield you from attacks from our lovely mates this time."

Alex looked mildly offended. "It's only _one day_, Tom. I won't suffer much without you for _one day._"

Tom smirked as he felt a familiar feeling for déjà vu. "Oh, I don't know, Alex. The last time you…"

"Oh shut up, Tom."

The next day, Tom was sitting up on the hospital bed, anxiously waiting for his guardian to come. He wondered what he would be like, and if he lived alone. What if he was a double agent too? Tom shuddered. _Don't think about that, _he scolded himself, _MI6 would have already run checks on this guy…everything will be fine. He's there to protect you, not kill you._

Unsurprisingly, Tom did not find much assurance in those thoughts.

As if on cue, Tom heard someone approaching fast. No, more than one person. There were heavy footfalls- Tom raised an eyebrow at that. Weren't MI6 agents all silent walkers?

Just then, Tom heard voices and a knock on the door. "Come in?" he said uncertainly. The door immediately burst open.

**You have no idea how tempted I was to end here! I love suspense, but I still remember my oath to make Tom's K-unit guardian known in this chapter, so you can continue reading now!**

_The door immediately burst open._

At the doorway, two men stood. One of them was a tall, well-built and fair-haired man with blue eyes. He was probably Scottish, and he looked kind. The second one was a red-head (Tom was reminded of Jack) and he had brown eyes, and was well-built too. He had a crazy glint in his eye, and was grinning like a maniac. Tom feared for his life. He could tell that this man was high. _Please don't let this guy be my guardian! Let the Scottish one be my guardian, please! I've had enough of crazy adults!_

"Welcome, peasants, to my humble, white-washed and sterile palace! Come in, come in!" Tom said dramatically. He always liked to introduce himself with a joke.

The Scottish one rolled his eyes but smiled, and Crazy Person's grin, if possible, grew wider.

"I like this guy!" Crazy Person declared, bouncing to him and gave Tom a big hug. He also produced a bunch of half-eaten grapes from a bag. Tom's eyes bugged out. This definitely could _not _be an MI6 agent. He remembered what he said to Alex: _"So, where's my guardian? He should at least be nice enough to visit me and give me grapes, a bedtime story and a big hug in my nice and cosy hospital bed."_

Tom mentally whacked himself on the head. He jinxed himself! The last thing he wanted was Crazy Person to whip out a bedtime story…

The Scot sighed and shook his head, closing the door and leaning against it. "I apologise for my friend's sugar-highness," he said regretfully, "I was unable to keep him away from the sugar in the kitchen."

Tom swallowed. "I'm Tom, Tom Harris."

"I'm Matt, nice to meet you, my royal subject!" Crazy Person-or Matt- declared, "That's _Peter, _my servant._"_

Tom had to suppress a snicker at the name. Seriously, _Peter_?

'Peter' whacked Matt on the head.

"Ow!"

"Serves you right," 'Peter' drawled. He turned to Tom and sent him a half smile. "It's Carl."

Tom nodded and shook his hand. Much better.

"And, Matt thought it would be nice to give you this," Carl sighed, and fished out a book from the bag: _The Purple Elephant._

"It's a bedtime story," Carl explained, shaking his head. Tom felt like bashing his head. Repeatedly. Against a concrete wall. And ask Blunt if it was too late to back out and hop on the next flight to the North Pole.

He shoved the book away, and Carl looked amused while Matt looked hurt and _pouted. _Tom stared at him incredulously.

"Are you _pouting?_"

"Yes!" Matt brightened up, and gave him a crazy grin. What kind of MI6 agent _pouts_?

"So…who's my guardian?" he asked, eyeing Matt warily.

Then, _of course _it had to be Matt.

"ME!" Matt yelled gleefully, bouncing on his chair. Tom looked at Carl, horrified.

"Unfortunately," Carl said regretfully, "I tried to tell the agent to choose me instead, because at least I'm _sane_," at this, he shot Matt a glare, who was giggling, "but they wouldn't hear of it. I don't know why; maybe because he's so childish he's good with kids. It's just that he actslike one, but even worse. "

"Shit," Tom groaned and flopped on his bed.

"I feel sorry for you, Tom, I really do," Carl said helpfully. Tom glared at the both of them, and rolled away from Matt and into the pillow.

"The first thing I'll do when I get to Matt's house is to throw the sugar and all things high-inducing out of the window and into the next country," came the muffled reply.

Carl shook his head. "You can't. When it comes to sugar, nothing can separate Matt from it. And he can always buy more."

Tom groaned loudly.

As an afterthought, Carl added, "_Our _flat."

Tom looked at him. "Wha-?"

"_Our _flat," Carl repeated. "I stay with Matt."

"Ah, I see. Then _I _feel sorry for _you_. You've been staying with him for who knows how long, right? And I'm only staying for a couple of months," Tom said smugly.

Carl buried his head in his hands. "I know. I live with him because we military types don't earn much, and to prevent him from scarring the neighbors for life."

Tom's eyebrows scrunched together. "_Military _types?"

"We work in the SAS."

Ah, so _that _explains the heavy footfalls and their behavior- they _aren't _MI6 agents. They seem nice enough…_WAIT_.

"Did you say _SAS?_"

Carl nodded, and smirked. "Cool, eh?"

Tom smiled uncertainly. "Yeah, cool." But inside, he was screaming: OH CRAP, OH CRAP, OH CRAP CRAP CRAP. SAS? The horribly mean people who bullied Alex? Tom had a horrifying thought that these two belonged to K-unit, Alex's unit. Then, he suddenly remembered Alex saying that Matt sounded familiar. Tom's eyes widened. _No fucking way._

"SAS, huh? So do you have codenames?" he asked, afraid of the answer. But he knew. He knew who these guys were, he knew that there was absolutely no way that luck was on his side. He knew; Alex had cursed them to the deepest pits of hell.

Matt nodded (he probably got tired of listening). "I'm Eagle, and he's Snake. Our leader's Wolf, and our comms specialist is Jaguar, who was Fox's replacement. Fox went to MI6, by the way. Our unit's K-unit, one of the best."

Tom was speechless. He couldn't say anything. He only had one thought:

Oh shit.

**Yay, I finished! Like it? Don't like it? Either way, please review; it would really make my day! Thank you! **


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello again my lovely readers and reviewers! I love writing this story. I've already got ideas for the other chapters; all I have to do is to type them out and publish them!**

**Also, I'd like to inform you that I'll be updating weekly, except for a few exceptions here and there when I'll either update a little earlier or later. The school work's starting to build up and I've actually got a test soon! No kidding, and it's only JANUARY. (Insert appropriate words here). It can't actually be legal!**

**Anyway, this is just a warning. Are you guys okay with that? I hope so!**

**And of course, please review. If I don't have at least one review per chapter, it means that this story isn't that good to actually earn a review, and I'll stop updating- I really mean it. I'm not doing this only because I want to squeeze more reviews out of you, but reviews really help me to work hard to get the next chapter ready under all the stress about school work and stuff. I hope you'll understand.**

**Enough of me rambling…on with the story! **

Chapter Five

"Tom? Tom? Are you okay?" Carl asked anxiously, waving a hand in front of Tom's face. He looked absolutely petrified. Carl looked around the room; no, no danger. Except maybe the still-hyper Matt giggling on his chair in the corner and crooning some ancient soap opera song thing.

"I'm fine," Tom said after a while, and glared coldly at the two of them. They made Alex's life hell during his SAS training, and there would be revenge. He wouldn't tell Alex about it- oh no. That would be the end of the world. Somehow, he had to execute his revenge on his own without K-unit and Alex ever meeting each other.

"You sure?" Carl asked again.

"Yes," Tom said icily, and Carl looked at him, confused and surprised at his current change in demeanor. He must have been fed up with Matt.

"Matt!" Carl yelled, "Stop that ridiculous singing! You're pissing your _charge_ off!"

Ah, so Carl thought that Tom was fed up with Matt...so be it. It gave him a perfect excuse to prank the soldiers without bringing up Alex.

"Can we go now?" Tom whined. Carl looked at him like he was crazy.

"Do you have multiple personalities or something?"

Tom shook his head and smirked. "I'm crazy."

Carl groaned and banged his head against the door. He didn't think he could stand another insane person- he would become insane himself. "Let's just go now. Come on, Matt."

They left the hospital room, Tom was discharged and they all walked to a Jeep parked at the parking lot. Typical military types- all into Jeeps.

"Get in," Carl said. Matt called shotgun, but Carl protested. "The last time you called shotgun when you were high, we were involved in a car accident and a four-car pileup! Tom, you sit with me. Matt, strap yourself down at the back. No reaching in front to fiddle with the radio, windshield wipers or the steering wheel, or anything else for the matter."

Matt pouted again but did so anyway. Tom clambered into the Jeep. A four car pileup with nothing compared to a _twelve_ car pileup that Alex caused, but Tom didn't want to die in the hands of a hyper SAS man who probably had a brain of a five year old. The best unit in Britain's elite special force? Forget it; even _he_ was more mature than this guy, and that was saying something. Matt was probably accepted because he was a formidable weapon to use against the enemies when he was high. They could drop him in an enemy compound and he could create a distraction or go on a killing spree. And he could probably talk the ears off whoever stupid enough go kidnap him. Matt talked even more than Tom himself! The coach couldn't even stand _him,_ it would be interesting for the two of them to meet- especially when Eagle was high.

"...and so she yelled 'I hate you, you bastard!' and left the restaurant. She said it really loudly- like the max volume of the speakers in this Jeep. Everyone was staring at me, and I got so embarrassed! Like that time when you fell flat on your face in the mud during inspection in front of the sergeant and the other units kind of embarrassment, right Snake? You remember that? That was so funny, we all had stomach aches, and you had _so _much punishment! And then-"

Oh, god. Matt was talking HIS ears off. Tom totally sympathized with Carl, who looked like he was about to pull over and throw himself at the excited chatterbox. He would go easy on Carl on the pranks- he already had enough on his mind. The bulk of the pranks would go to Wolf- the bastard who went all out to bin Alex. At least all the rest did was to ignore Alex (although they didn't help him). And that new guy; Jaguar. He would receive pranks too- just for the heck of it. Matt annoyed him as much as Wolf did. Tom smirked. They were going _down_.

Soon, they reached the flat. It was looked pretty decent from the outside, but Tom could tell that it was old. Inside, the house was a mess. Tom gaped at the sight- papers were strewn everywhere, empty takeout boxes were stacked all over the living room. There were a couple of split drinks lying around, and Tom swore he saw a cockroach or ten scuttling on the floor.

"And you said you were getting ready for my arrival," Tom said dryly. The two of them looked sheepish. "We don't live here much; we're more out of the house than in it, to be exact. We're usually at Brecon Beacons," Carl explained.

"And what were you doing when you were _supposed _to be visiting me?"

Carl flushed. "We just came back from Iraq," he explained, "we were catching up on sleep. Jetlag's a bitch." Tom nodded and smiled.

"Well, Matt, it's time to put your energy to use," Tom announced, "Let's play a game. You're supposed to make this house clean and tidy, and then you'll have a reward at the end."

Matt grinned and said, "Okay Tom!" before hurrying to tidy up the mess.

"Impressive," Carl said. "It works for five year olds. I babysit sometimes." Tom shrugged, and Carl laughed.

Carl showed Tom his room, which was the guest room. It was plain white, but the bed covers were a pale blue color. There was a big window to the right of the bed, and a bedside table to the left. There was even a small table opposite his room for him to do him homework. Thankfully, it was clean. Tom started unpacking and Carl went down to help Matt. He hid all his pranking stuff at the bottom of the closet, and piled clothes on top of them. Matt would probably barge into his room later and look through his stuff; he couldn't risk Matt finding his stuff. Matt wasn't below using the pranking things himself.

After unpacking, he went back downstairs. They were pretty fast, and Matt seemed pretty tired after bouncing around all day.

"Reward?" he asked hopefully. Tom rolled his eyes. Matt seemed more like his charge than his guardian.

"Sleep," Tom said. Matt's eyes widened. "You lied!" he cried. Tom cringed. He did seem more like a five year old.

"I didn't," he said flatly, "that's your reward. Rest."

Matt pouted. "That isn't a nice reward."

"Yes it is," Carl said, lounging on the sofa. "You should sleep off the high-ness and act like a proper guardian to Tom."

With that, Matt was shooed out of the living room and onto his bed, where he fell asleep almost immediately. Tom smirked. He was going to have a nice surprise when he woke up.

Carl and Tom trooped back to the living room and plopped down with glasses of water.

"Which school do you go to?"

"Brookland Comprehensive. They didn't tell you?"

Carl shook his head. "They didn't give a lot of details; they just showed us a file with your description and told us you were here for protection. I'm not sure why they couldn't post bodyguards at your home, but after hearing what happened with that double agent, I can see why." He smiled a half-smile at Tom.

"So, why do you need protection?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Tom couldn't tell him it was because of Alex, so he responded with a "Classified."

"Come on, we signed the OSA and everything! You can tell me."

Tom shook his head. "Even if you have clearance, which I doubt you have one high enough, I don't want to tell you."

"And why is that?" he asked suspiciously.

"I don't want to be reminded of it. It was scary," Tom lied, portraying a picture of a scared, helpless and distressed teenager to perfection. Carl's features softened. "Alright, I won't ask. But you've got to tell me someday if anyone attacks. Then we'll know who we're up against."

Tom nodded, but he wasn't going to tell him. Alex had enough trouble in his life, and if he knew that Tom's guardian and roommate were SAS, and K-unit no less, he would go crazy. Besides, Tom was not sure exactly _how many _terrorist organizations wanted to get their hands on him. Scorpia, the Chinese Triads, the Snakehead…He decided he didn't want to know.

"Tom?" Carl asked, worried.

"Huh?"

"You spaced out again."

"Oh." Tom grinned sheepishly.

"Is anything wrong?"

Tom sighed. "I don't know Carl…I don't understand what's going on." It was true; even though he knew more than Carl, it didn't mean he understood it. He never understood the world of espionage. All those secrets, all those lies, coldness and death… It was puzzling and troubling.

"I feel the same. Why don't you go and explore? The flat isn't big, but it's home. I'll order takeout for lunch."

Tom raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you SAS men? It's unhealthy."

"Only if you eat it all the time."

"And you don't?"

Carl didn't bother to reply, but did go a little red. He didn't know how to cook, and neither did Matt, so they either went out to eat (and accused of being gay by passing teenagers) or ordered takeout. Usually it was the latter…and it was obvious why.

Tom left to explore the flat. Like Carl said, it wasn't big, but it looked cosy enough, even though it was a dump most of the time. The bedrooms were side by side, and there was a study on the opposite side. The bathroom was at the end of the corridor, and it was one of the few places that was actually clean. Tom guessed it was because it was where the SAS men treated their wounds and stuff, so it had to be as clean as can be- possibly even sterilized.

Tom was going back to the couch until…

"AHHHHHHH!"

**And it stops here! Yes, I know, this chapter is short, but I have to think up a link between this and the rest of K-unit visiting Eagle and Snake, and poor Tom being traumatized after seeing the rest of the unit in all their glory. And of course: Alex realizing exactly who Tom's guardian is. That should be exciting, yeah?**

**Review please!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello people! Thanks for all your support! I appreciate all your reviews and please continue to review and give suggestions on what you want to see in this story. Thanks!**

_Tom was going back to the couch until…_

"_AHHHHHHH!"_

Tom's eyes widened. A girl's scream...and it was coming from someone's room…Matt's room! But wasn't Matt a man? Or maybe he was transsexual…but he was tough-looking and _SAS _for god's sake. No transsexuals allowed, right? Or maybe he had a girlfriend or wife in the room! By why would she scream? Unless she was attacked, or...

Tom flushed red at the alternative. Matt WAS high... Just maybe...

He heard muffled swearing and heavy footfalls. Someone was coming! It was Carl, running up the stairs with a gun pointing at him. He put a finger to his lips. He looked very tense and worried. Tom looked on in awe as he kicked open Matt's door. Tom ran to catch up, and the sight was astonishing.

Matt, wrapped up in his blankets, was covered in pink and lime green sludge, with chicken feathers, party streamers, ping pong balls and cowering at the sight of a huge beetle on his bed. Carl gaped at him, while Tom realized that it was the prank he had pulled and cracked up. The beetle was a ladybug in disguise...and that made it more hilarious. He looked like a…well, he looked like a bald, plucked chicken that fell in a vat of slime and walked through a ping pong match.

Matt suddenly realized what had happened, and growled. His high-ness had left him, and he was mad. Very mad.

Carl had started laughing too. "Oh god...so funny...chicken...beetle...girlish scream..." he gasped.

The last one made Matt flush. "Oops," he said weakly, sending the other two into hysterics again.

"Why did you do this to me?" Matt moaned, burying his head in his hands.

"You were annoying," Tom said flatly, recovering from his laughter.

Snake chuckled. "That was an understatement."

"Right. You were an epitome of all things irritating, moronic and stupid. And sugar-highness."

There was silence as Matt tried to comprehend what Tom had just said. Then, realization registered on his face.

"HEY!"

Once Matt had cleaned up the sludge (making quite a mess in the process), they all settled down for lunch. Tom, who was given the best his parents could afford (in futile attempts to win him over), had never eaten takeaway before, and stared at the box in mute horror.

"THIS is takeaway?" he asked, horrified.

Carl grinned. "Yeah. Like it?"

Tom gulped, and tentatively ate a bite.

It was...different. Not that it wasn't nice, but not as good as the good food he had eaten because of his parents.

"It's okay, I suppose."

"Why? Missing the good food your rich parents gave you?" Matt teased.

Tom's face darkened. "We're not rich. I do eat good food, but not because I'm spoiled."

His dangerous tone made Matt shut up. Carl eyed him curiously. "Care to tell us anything?"

"Eat." Tom snapped. He WASN'T going to be reminded of his silly parents and their bickering. He was going to enjoy his stay without his parents...and a couple of nosy SAS men weren't going to change that. He was already plotting revenge for their prying. It wasn't smart to bring up a topic about his parents unless he talked about them himself. The poor Dickson boy still had nightmares about it.

Carl looked shocked and meekly obeyed. Tom looked murderous, and was stabbing his food with a fork. He swallowed, and they continued eating in uncomfortable silence.

Tom was back to his normal self after lunch. They lounged on the couch and watched TV. Matt was watching SPONGEBOB, of all things. Tom sat, looking in amusement and disbelief at the big child clapping his hands with glee as Plankton was squashed.

"Carl...is he mentally retarded or something? Autistic, maybe? There is no way a grown _SAS _man would like _Spongebob._"

"Spongebob Squarepants! Spongebob Squarepants! Spongebob Squarepants! Spongybob-" Matt was cut off by a cushion Carl threw into his face in an attempt to make him shut up.

Carl rolled his eyes. "If he was, he wouldn't be in the SAS."

Tom smirked. "Fair point."

Tom left to do his homework when Alex sent him a text message. He was in the middle of quadratic trinomials, and he looked at his phone, annoyed.

_Hey, Tom. How's your guardian? Anyone I know?_

Tom blinked and gulped. He thanked his lucky stars this was a text, not a phone call. Alex would know if he was lying just by hearing his voice.

_Hey Al. My guardian is fine. No, no one you know. _

Tom grinned wickedly before adding:

_He's gay. _

Alex quickly replied.

_WHAT? You're not serious! You're in danger!_

Tom laughed as he replied:

_Nah. He's already got a boyfriend._

Oh, they were _so_ going to kill him...if they found out, that is. Maybe they _were_ gay...it's just they chose to hide it from him. Tom shuddered at the thought. No way. Carl would prefer to commit suicide than to be in a relationship with Matt…right?

_Oh god! You have got to let me meet them!_

Tom paled. _They won't want me to have anyone around...please Al? I'm staying with them for __a few _months_ and I really don't want them to kick me out. _

_They won't kick you out- they're under orders from MI6! Never mind... I'll let them have their space. _

Tom heaved a sigh of relief. That was close.

_Thanks, Alex. Bye._

_Bye, Tom._

Suddenly, the door crashed open. Tom whipped his head around, and saw a panting Matt at the doorway. "Move!" he screamed, and without bothering to hear Tom's reply, he jumped over him and shot under the bed.

"MATT!" Carl yelled as he burst into the room.

"Seen Matt?" Carl asked, winking at Tom. Tom blinked, and a small, mischievous smile spread across his face. "Nope. Why?"

Carl rolled his eyes. "The usual. He used ketchup to draw on my bedroom wall."

Tom laughed. "He did? That's a stupid thing to do. Well, we can't really expect anything more from him, right? I mean, he's immature almost every single moment of the day. No, make it _every _moment of the day."

There was a noise as Matt wiggled out of the bed, glaring at the both of them.

"I'll have you know that I'm _very _mature!" he argued hotly. Tom grinned. "I totally believe you," he said wryly. Before Matt could celebrate his victory, Carl grabbed him by the collar. "Ha! I got you!" he yelled triumphantly. Tom clapped and cheered loudly.

Matt pouted.

"Aw! You're no fun, Carly."

Tom smirked. "_Carly_?"

Carl glared at Matt. "Don't you dare call me Carly."

"Carly," Tom said automatically. Carl narrowed his eyes at Tom. "Kid, don't call me that- I've already told you once. You'll be very sorry."

Tom just rolled his eyes. He had pissed off a kidnapper and the world's only teenaged superspy and survived. If anything, he would be amused.

Carl thought that Tom was ridiculing him, and didn't know who he was up against, so he lunged for Tom. Luckily, Matt was in the way, so innocently Matt stuck his foot out, and Carl fell flat on his face at Tom's feet. He immediately got back up and lunged at Matt instead.

"Stop! You want to murder someone; you don't do it here!" Tom yelled, shoving the two men out of the room. "You can only stay if you know how to do quadratic trinomials!"

There was silence, and a smile slowly spread across Matt's face. Carl paled. Tom didn't like the look of this.

"Tom," Matt said calmly, "you do know that you are looking at someone who got a Math degree in university, right? My forte is algebra." Tom's eyes grew wide. "So I can stay."

And for the second time: Oh shit.

**Oh god; there were so many places I could have put cliffies! Don't worry, this chapter's not over yet. I was aiming for at least six pages, so carry on! I'm really tempted to end here…Oh well. I'll end it a little later.**

Five minutes later, Matt was explaining some math questions to an amazed Tom, while Carl was calmly playing with Tom's stuffed cat. Carl insisted on coming too, claiming that he wanted to see that Matt didn't get 'too carried away', but really he just wanted to play with the cat. Carl loved cats; he had had four cats in his life. Sadly, Matt was allergic to cats, or else Carl would have at least three cats in the house.

Tom was in a daze as Matt explained to him. He found himself understanding everything he said. Perhaps Blunt knew that Matt was good with homework or something; but Tom suspected that it was his love for Math.

"Wow," Tom said, "you're good, Matt."

Matt smiled. "Thanks."

"I'd really like it if you were like this forever." Tom said quietly. "You're really nice when you're like that." Carl smiled too, and Tom plowed on.

"You know…my dad never did this to me. Nor my mum. They had no time for me. Usually they just spend their free time quarrelling and throwing plates at each other." Matt and Carl stopped smiling. Tom seemed so sad.

"You'd make a great dad," Tom continued, "you can be calm and good and really…nice at times. So unlike _my _parents."

Matt put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I didn't choose my parents, nor did you, so there's nothing to apologise for."

"Yes there is," Matt objected, "I said a horrible thing at lunch, didn't I? And sorry for my immaturity… It's just I've had a rough childhood and never really had time to enjoy what kids your age enjoy now." _Just like Alex, _Tom thought. He smiled. "Yeah, I guess."

Matt looked like he was deep in thought, and was about to say something, but clamped his mouth shut at the last minute. "Am I done here?" he asked. Tom nodded, puzzled. "I'm going to my room. See you."

And with that, Matt walked out. Tom looked at Carl, and he shrugged.

"What's wrong with him?"

"I don't know, Tom."

**But **_**I**_** know! :D I had this brilliant idea just now…but it'll take a long time to build up to it. Good news for you- you'll have more chapters! Yay!**

**Also, I was thinking about the updating weekly thing, and I realized I might not be able to keep to it…but I swear I'll at least update once every month or something. Maybe two weeks. I don't know. The weekend is here so I'll probably write a bunch of chapters first.**

**Review please! **


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello people! This chapter's going to be the longest yet, because I'm introducing the whole of K-unit now! Enjoy, and please review!**

_And with that, Matt walked out. Tom looked at Carl, and he shrugged._

_"What's wrong with him?"_

_"I don't know, Tom."_

The next day, Alex bombarded Tom with questions about his new guardian.

"Tom!" Alex cried.

"What?" he snapped, obviously annoyed with his incessant questioning. He had been asked the _whole freaking day, _and he just wanted to go back to the flat.

"Can I come over this afternoon? Jack's out and I'm bored. Maybe we could do homework together." _And check out my new guardian in the process, _added Tom in his head.

"No!" he said, a little too quickly. Alex narrowed his eyes at him. "Why?"

"Um…" Tom racked his brain to find a good excuse. Sadly, he found none.

"ALEX!" someone yelled. The two boys snapped their heads around, only to see a group of blushing girls standing at the doorway. "Hey Alex, hello Tom." One of the girls, Andrea, said. "Um…hi?" Alex replied lamely. Tom mentally face-palmed. Alex was never good with girls, and he was supposed to be a mini James Bond! But then again, Alex never was interested in girls, and Tom was definitely not interested in Alex becoming a man whore.

The girls giggled, and Andrea spoke again. "Alex, would you like to go to the movies with us? If you don't like the cinema, the drama club is performing a version of _Titanic _next Friday, and I thought maybe we could go together."

There were several cries of 'Hey, I thought _I _was going with him!' but they were ignored. "Sorry," Alex said, looking amused, "but I'm not into movies or theatre." He spun on his heel, and called over his shoulder. "My apologies. See you around. Tom, you coming?"

Tom hurried to catch up to him, and heard some disappointed groans and comments that he was 'such a gentleman when he turned us down' and 'he's so freaking hot!'. Alex raised an eyebrow.

"You've got a fanclub." Tom explained. Alex looked horrified. "Seriously? Oh no…I'm a bloody _spy, _I'm supposed to _lay low, _not be the talk of the town."

Tom chuckled at the irony. "And how can you _not _be the talk of the town with all those mysterious absences?"

"True. So…can I go home with you?"

Tom resisted the urge to bang his head against the wall. Nothing would come out of it anyway, only a big bruise. Now, Tom was _the _master of manipulation, like Blunt, so he resolved to work this out without bloodshed and raised eyebrows. And, he had figured out the perfect plan during that…exchange.

"You see, I'm still kind of settling down, and my guardian's really busy, so the house is a mess. And besides, he likes me and all, but he's made it very clear no one else is allowed to step into the house without being checked." Here, he added an eyeroll.

Alex grinned. "Well, he _is _an MI6 agent…it's normal for them to be paranoid. I wouldn't be surprised if there are cameras in the toilet. Wait, that would make your gay guardian a paedophile, right?"

Tom groaned and buried his head in his hands. "Just go home, Alex."

Alex smirked. "Alright. Bye Tom."

"See you."

When Alex left, Tom smiled. Alex was great and all, but this time, it was mission accomplished for him.

-Back at the flat-

Matt and Carl were busy preparing lunch. They had bought a cookbook, wanting to give Tom a surprise when he got back from school. They felt bad for not being proper guardians, with the messy house and Matt's really bad first impression, so they wanted to treat the boy. Of course, their cooking was quite the opposite of 'treating', but it's the thought that counts, right?

Then, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" Carl yelled and bolted for the door. Matt grumbled and hurriedly barricaded the kitchen. They weren't done cooking yet, and Tom wasn't expected home until two hours later. Maybe he had skipped school or something. _He'd better not, _Matt thought, _or else I'll be forced to act all motherly and 'act like a proper guardian' like Carl said and ground him._

Carl opened the door, and opened his mouth to say 'hello, go to your room right now, no, we'll have lunch two hours later, don't ask me why just do it' to Tom like Matt and him had rehearsed on the event that Tom got home early when he realised that it wasn't Tom at all.

"Wolf?" he asked in disbelief. Wolf was supposed to be in _hospital_, recovering from a _bullet wound _he got from Iraq! That was one of the reasons they had been sent back to England.

"You know it's Will outside of camp," he grumbled, and pushed his way in, limping slightly. Carl smirked and followed him in.

"What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be somewhere, like the _hospital, recovering from your bullet wound?" _Carl asked worriedly, raising an eyebrow.

"Tom's recovering from a bullet wound?" Matt yelled, bursting from the kitchen.

"No, Matt, Wolf."

"Ah…hi William."

Wolf-or Will-growled.

"Will," Matt hastily corrected himself, and disappeared into the kitchen again.

"Who's Tom?" Will asked, putting his feet on the table.

Carl shrugged. "Some kid we're protecting. Matt and I are cooking for him. He's really nice, and called Matt fatherly. Matt looked like he could fly."

Will laughed. "Matt- _fatherly? _That kid's not right in the head. Matt's more childish than a five-year-old."

"I HEARD THAT!" Matt screamed from the kitchen. Will snorted. "You need me to help with lunch? Matt can even burn spoons."

Carl smirked and nodded. Will attended cooking classes once, being forced into his family's profession. All of them were chefs except him-and he was proud of it. He joined the SAS to spite his parents and because he always wanted to be a soldier.

"So, how did you end up with the kid?"

"MI6."

Will nodded and followed Carl into the kitchen. "MI6 is always asking the SAS for protection and other weird things. Like Cub, for instance. I wonder where he is now."

Matt smiled. "Yeah. I hope he's not doing dangerous stunts again, like the one at Point Blanc."

"I should hope not," Carl said sharply. "It was a one-off thing, right?"

Will shifted uneasily. He wasn't quite sure, and he doubted it was, but what else could he say? That MI6 would be fools not to use him again, with skills like that?

"Yeah," he finally said, "it was."

Carl sighed. "We shouldn't have treated him that way. You, especially. No kid should have to go through that. Even if you did get shot protecting him."

Will studied his shoes. "Yeah, I guess. It still doesn't change the fact that he was a rich kid that was sent to Beacons. That school was for wild and rich brats; he probably didn't change after the camp."

Carl snorted. "He didn't seem like a rich kid to me. He didn't even complain once at the camp."

"Maybe he changed for the worst. Any teenager, nice or not, will brag about surviving SAS camp." Willdefended, though he felt more unsure about his theory after hearing Carl.

Carl and Matt shook their heads. Will could be the most stubborn human to ever walk on Earth.

When Tom got home, he was surprised to find a proper lunch on the table, with three men crowding around it. Two were obviously Matt and Carl, and Tom immediately recognised the third from Alex's cursing. Tom gulped. It was Wolf.

"Hi," he said, dumping his rucksack on the floor and walked in, eyeing the short Hispanic warily. He looked as scary as Alex depicted him to be. It was horrifying to find him in his temporary guardian's flat's kitchen.

"Tom!" Matt said cheerfully, and ruffled his hair. Wolf's eyebrows rose at his fatherly manner. Tom smiled. He was really enjoying this; his father _never _ruffled his hair that way. It was comforting. Tom resisted the urge to ask Matt to do it again.

"Tom, how are you?" Carl asked, nodding his head in acknowledgement.

"Fine. Who're you?" Tom asked uncertainly.

"Will," he replied gruffly, and they shook hands. Tom cracked a smile. Just like Alex said he was. Gruff and tough.

"Nice to meet you," he said politely, and then gestured to the table, "which god's doing is this?"

Will laughed. "Mine."

Tom's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. _Wolf _did this? "You don't seem the type."

Will snorted. "I've got a family of chefs, what do you think? Matt and Carl wanted to make it up to you, with the bad impressions and all that crap, but they can't cook to save their lives, so I helped them out a bit." This was shocking, to say the least. Wolf had a nice side? He never would have guessed. But then again, _Blunt_ was probably the most inhuman thing in the world.

"Wow, thanks, all of you," Tom replied, grinning. "Matt and Carl for the idea, and Will for saving us from food poisoning."

Indignant cries rang out, and Will clapped Tom on the back. "I like you, kid. Dig in; we're all hungry."

Before they could sit down, the doorbell rang again. Matt groaned and went to answer. Will, Carl and Tom heard him exclaim, and Matt emerged with a stranger, grinning like an idiot.

"Jason!" Carl exclaimed. Tom raised an eyebrow.

"Another of our unit members. This is Jaguar." Matt explained, and Jason flashed Tom a smile. "Hello, you must be Tom. Matt told me about you."

Will huffed. "Why did you tell Jason, and not _me_?" Matt shrugged, mumbling a 'forgot'.

Tom watched the exchange in amusement, and started to eat his food. Jason's eyebrows rose in disbelief at the food, and they had to explain everything again. Luckily, Will had made extra, 'in case the boy ate a lot', which he did, but it was still enough for everyone.

"Why did _you _come, Jason?" Matt asked, mouth full.

"Don't eat with your mouth full, Matty. You're setting a bad example here." Carl, Will and Tom snorted simultaneously, resulting in laughter at Matt's expense.

"Anyway, I wanted to see the kid."

"I'm not a kid!" Tom replied hotly.

Jason smiled and ruffled his hair. "Sure you're not."

Tom grinned. He loved the hair-ruffling thing a little too much.

"Thank you," he said, shocking everyone, including himself. Everyone stared at him, puzzled.

"What for?"

"Ruffling my hair."

Now, everyone looked at him as he if he was crazy, which, Carl noted, he was.

"It's just…my dad never did that to me before."

Silence.

"I mean, not that he's dead, it's just my parents spend more time arguing and pushing me around like a trophy than actually loving and caring for me. That's why I enjoy it here. You guys are more loving than my own parents. Yes, the hyper Matt, motherly Carl, grumpy Will and a nice Jason are better than my own family. So, thank you."

Will reached over to ruffle his hair. "You're welcome. I like kids."

Tom raised his eyebrow. If he liked kids, then why did he treat Alex like dirt? He wanted to ask, but then, he wasn't supposed to know anything about their fifth member, right?

"Yeah, but not the ones in the SAS," Matt joked, receiving a slap on the head.

"What do you mean?" Tom lied. Inside, he was bursting with curiosity and happiness.

They explained about a kid named Cub coming to train with them, and they thought that he had rich parents and sent him there to 'see how military life was like' and came to shame them, so they treated him badly.

Tom grew angrier and angrier at their words, and by the time they finished, he was practically shaking with anger. He resisted the tempting urge to punch every one of their faces, but only just.

"Tom? You okay?" Jason asked. They watched as Tom, who was shaking uncontrollably just now, close his eyes and took several deep breaths before calming down.

"Yeah," he said, cracking a forced smile, "I'm okay."

They looked skeptical, but let it go, much to his relief. He had to be more careful from now on.

"You know," Matt said casually, "that Will and Jason are…"

"Shut up, Matt!" Will roared, "we are _not_ an item! Just because you saw us…" he trailed off, and Tom leaned forward, batting his eyelashes, reminding himself to thank Matt for that later. "Saw you what?"

Will and Jason turned bright red, while Matt and Carl smirked. "They were drunk."

"Ah…what happened then?"

"Don't say anything!" Jason shouted, clamping his hand over Matt's mouth, but Carl gladly took over.

"We were at Will's house drinking, and then all of a sudden, they started kissing after the scotch. And you can guess where that went from there."

Will lunged at Carl, yelling 'we were drunk!', while Tom just laughed. So _Wolf and Jason _were gay?

"We are NOT bloody gay, alright?" Will hissed. Tom nodded meekly. He looked really scary.

"And what about you?" Tom asked slyly, addressing Carl. Carl blinked. "What?"

"Aren't you and Matt…"

"NO!" Matt all but shrieked, ripping a laughing Jason's hand off his mouth and glared at Tom. Tom smiled innocently, and everyone except Carl and Matt cracked up.

"Revenge is sweet; and we didn't have to do anything," Will said smugly.

"Watch it, kid," Carl growled. Matt looked positively murderous.

"Lay it off," Jason chuckled.

"I'll have you know that I have a girlfriend!" Carl declared hotly.

"Until two days ago," Will reminded him. Carl buried his head in his hands, and Matt banged his head on the table. Tom just watched on with amusement.

"Don't remind me of that monster," he groaned, and shuddered, "I'm glad I dumped her."

"What happened now?"

"Her name was Sandra Keller," Jason started dramatically, hand gestures and all. "More like Sandra _Yeller_." Carl grumbled. Jason glared at Carl for interrupting him.

"And I quote, 'She was alright at first, but then she missed out on her promotion, and took it out on poor me.' Carl dumped her the same day, and she hasn't stopped calling to apologise and make it up to him since. And then whenever Carl tells her it's over, she starts screaming."

"Like a harpy," Matt piped up.

And…the phone rang.

"Oh god, please _don't _tell me it's Yeller!" Carl yelled, and the rest snickered. "I'll get it," Tom said, mischievous smile playing on his lips. Everyone grinned. "Do it," Carl cheered, "we're all counting on you to drive that madwoman away!"

Everyone trooped to the living room, and Tom put it on speaker.

_Hello? Is this Carl?_

"No!" Tom shouted into the phone in an American accent, "there's no freaking Carl here! I'm in the middle of a meeting at the White House, you madwoman!"

_Oh! Oh! I'm terribly sorry, I must have keyed my boyfriend's telephone number wrongly. _

Carl huffed at the 'boyfriend' part. "I'm _not _your boyfriend," he grumbled.

"_Boyfriend?" _Tom cried, outraged. "I ain't your boyfriend!"

Everyone laughed as they heard the dial tone. "Genius!" Matt exclaimed, ruffling his hair.

The phone rang again, and Tom cleared his throat.

"Hello?" he squeaked in a little girl's voice. Everyone started stifling their laughter.

_Who is this? Is Carl home?_

"Carl?" Tom asked, confused. "You mean my dad?"

The result was _spectacular._

**MUHAHAHAHA! New character- Sandra Yeller- I mean Keller. I got 'Keller' from Helen Keller. I had to do a write-up on her for English -,-**

**Anyway, I had **_**so **_**much fun writing the last part! _"You mean my dad?" _This **_**is **_**the longest chapter so far, and I know all my chapters are really short, but I swear, the next one's going to be longer than this… Next chapter: Alex meets K-unit! **

**Reviews are **_**extremely **_**welcome.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Oh my god I AM SO SORRY PEOPLE! Time flies so fast... Now I understand all my fellow authors. :( It's been almost a month, and I'm really guilty now. I don't deserve any review for my lateness, and I hope I can make it up to you with this new long-awaited chapter. I know the Alex meeting Kunit part is not fully developed yet, but I'll try to develop it a little more in the next chapter. Thanks! The four SAS guys are random people - reply to ALEXRIDERFOREVER**

"I can't believe you actually did that!" Carl exclaimed for the umpteenth time. Everyone was still laughing over that little...incident over dinner.

"You just made my day," Matt grinned, and patted him on the back.

"Nice one, kid," Jason added, dodging the punch that Tom sent his way for calling him a 'kid'.

Will just nodded and grunted. Tom snorted. Typical.

"I mean, look what she did to me!" Carl yelled, pointing to his cheek where an ugly bruise was forming. Everyone just laughed harder.

Tom winced. "Hey, at least we got her to leave you for good." he said weakly. Carl glared at him. "You never know, with that woman. Woman are just mysteries. They say something, and mean the other. The last time she told me that, she appeared in the next hour. You know, I should ground you."

Tom's eyes widened, but he didn't say anything. He nodded, stood up and backed away in a daze. He was trapped in a memory.

_Pots and pans flew everywhere. Yelling, his father lunged at his mother. He jumped forward to protect her..._

He backed into the wall, ignoring the worried looks they were shooting him.

"Tom?"

_He got slashed in the arm by the glass shard his father was holding. In a rage, his father didn't notice that he was actually attacking his son and not his wife. A cry of pain rang out, and then his father had realized what he had done. His father stopped, shocked, but it was too late. A bloody, long line cut across Tom's shirt. His mother, fueled by her son's injury, made a move to retaliate._

There was a scraping of chairs as the four worried SAS men stood up and hurriedly went to a still dazed Tom's side. His eyes were glazed over.

"Tom, can you hear me?"

"Snap out of it!"

"What's wrong with him?"

_He yelled at them to stop fighting, but they blamed him for interfering and getting hurt. His father didn't even apologise. They just scolded him and grounded him for a month. Since then, he was always scared of the word 'grounded', for it brought memories of the violent argument._

Tom massaged the scar on his chest, panting. He looked around and saw the four men, and sank to the ground.

"Tom?" Matt asked, worry lacing his words.

"Yeah?"

"What happened?" Carl asked.

Tom sighed. He couldn't just say 'nothing', but he couldn't tell them anything more. Alex had

told him never to reveal his secrets to anyone, and his family situation WAS an important piece of information. But the SAS guys weren't just anyone, yet a family background could be faked. A personality could be faked. Lies could be made up, disguises could be worn. Heck, even that Sandra person could just be one of their accomplices, right?

But these guys weren't just any unit in the SAS. This was K-unit, and if Matt's words were true, these were one of the best units in the SAS. They couldn't pledge their allegiance to the enemy, right? They didn't seem the type. Never trust anything or anyone completely, Alex had said.

While Tom was struggling with this internal conflict, K-unit were looking on with worry. Tom's eyes had glazed over and even Matt knew that he had zoned out.

"Panic attack?" Matt asked, staring at Tom.

Carl grunted. "Don't touch him; he might react violently to anything now. He's pretty shaken up, I guess. I wonder what had caused it."

Will opened his mouth to say something, but when Matt made a move to touch Tom, he grabbed his arm. "What are you doing?" Will hissed, "Didn't you hear what Carl just said? No touching him!"

"I know what I'm doing," Matt said quietly in a tone they had never heard him use before. They were stunned. He really did sound he knew what he was doing, but could they trust him to know the right thing?

"He's my charge. They chose me to protect him for a reason, you know," Matt continued. Will's grip on his arm slackened and he walked slowly to Tom, making sure to make small noises to alert him of his presence. Tom twitched.

"Tom," he whispered to him, and started rubbing circles into his back. "It's alright, you're fine now. No more pain."

Tom stiffened at first, and then relaxed. He snuggled closer to Matt and closed his eyes. Matt gave the three stunned men a thumbs-up.

"Never repeat those words again. Please…it hurts so much," Tom whispered to Matt.

"What words?"

"G-R-O-U-" Tom told him. Matt's eyes widened and nodded in understanding. "Alright. I'll tell the guys. Do you want to go and have a shower?"

"But I just had it before dinner!" Tom whined, back to his own self again. Matt grinned."Showering helps you to relax, my dear."

Tom stuck his tongue out but nodded, and trooped back to the shower.

"How on earth…"

"What the hell…?"

"How did you…?"

Will, Carl and Jason gaped at a grinning Matt. "I have never seen that side of you. Ever."Carl declared, shaking his head in wonderment.

"I see why the kid called you fatherly," Will nodded in agreement.

"Awesome, Matty!" Jason cried.

"I AM NOT A KID!" a voice yelled.

Everyone laughed.

Alex stared at the phone and frowned. Tom hadn't been replying his texts or his calls; he always replied immediately. This was bad. Very bad. By the fifth ring, Alex made a decision.

"Hello? Please put me through to Mr Blunt, the chairman of the bank. Tell him this is Alex

Rider."

A pause.

"Mr Blunt wishes to tell you to come down to the bank as soon as possible."

"I'll be there in ten."

-At the Royal and General-

Alex approached the receptionist.

"Hello, I'm Alex Rider, and I'm here to see Mr Blunt. I have an appointment today to sort my accounts."

The receptionist's eyes widened at the boy, for she only heard the code from adult agents, but obviously she was well-trained, and it could pass off as a blink.

"I see; Mr Blunt's waiting for you in the office. Shall I show you up there?"

"There's no need for it, thanks. I can find it by myself."

Alex nodded curtly at the receptionist, feeling a little disappointed. The receptionist had been replaced; the last one was _hot. _It was supposed to be a normal bank; don't all banks have pretty receptionists?

He was still thinking about it when he walked into Blunt's office.

"Alex," Blunt greeted emotionlessly.

"Blunt."

"What brings you here today?"

"I couldn't reach Tom. He's not answering his phone."

"Have you tried his guardian's phone? Or his address?"

"You didn't tell me anything," Alex said, glaring at him. How on earth was Blunt going to expect him to know everything without telling him a damn thing! He wasn't psychic, and Tom refused to tell him either, for 'safety reasons'. Alex snorted inwardly. He never gave in to pain or torture, so why did Tom doubt him?

Blunt just stared back emotionlessly.

"You're a Rider," he stated simply.

"So?" Alex raised an eyebrow.

"So you follow your own curiosity and find out the information yourself. Like following Mr. Harris home, for example."

"And I'll just land myself in some sort of life-and-death situation."

"And save millions in the process."

Alex sighed and turned to leave. "Whatever."

There was a light thump on the table. Alex spun around and saw a slip of paper.

"The address…?"Alex questioned, peering at the paper. Indeed, it was. Alex grinned. "Thanks!"

And with that, he sped off, vaguely wondering why Blunt only wanted him to go (or why he was so kind to supply him with the address without any conditions). Maybe a huge army of people surrounding the house or flat wasn't exactly very stealthy, and besides, Tom might not even be in the flat. He rode a bike and chained it a few streets away, and made ais way to the flat. He quickly found it and observed it from the ground floor. Nothing suspicious; but he knew better. The less suspicious it _looked_, the more suspicious it actually was. He looked around and contemplated his next move. Walking around the building, he found a very conveniently placed tree, and a big branch right next to the window. He frowned. This was too easy for anyone to get in and out, and the window was _open. _What kind of MI6 agent allows such an easy entrance and escape route? This was too shabby. Unless...the enemy picked the lock at the window!

Alex frantically but silently climbed the tree, and looked into the window. The room was a _mess. _There was pieces of paper everywhere, along with a takeout box and a glass of half-finished water. This looked exactly like a teenager's room, but with no teenager. His heart dropped as he saw Tom's mobile phone carelessly thrown on his bed. Tom _never _parted with his phone; it was his pride and joy. If Tom's phone was here...then were was Tom?

He silently walked out of the door, and heard several worried voices. He couldn't make out any of them, but they seemed worried enough for himself to be worried. What _happened _to Tom?

There was the sound of the shower turning on. He frowned. Tom was bloody _missing, _and someone was taking a nice hot bath? Or maybe someone was trying to drown him!

He found a gun somewhere and positioned himself in front of the door. He took a deep, calming breath and kicked the door open.

"AHHHHHHH!"

-Back downstairs, a few minutes before-

"Any idea what happened?" Matt asked again, receiving three glares coming his way, promising a slow and painful death if he asked one more time.

"Any idea what happened?"

"Eagle!" Will yelled, and Matt shut up. Will only called him Eagle outside of work when he was really, really pissed. And when that happened, he was dead meat. Or dead bird. Or whatever.

Then, they heard Tom scream.

"AHHHHHHHHH!"

The four of them got to their feet, cursing under their breaths. They each found guns that Carl had insisted placing round the house, and hastily made their way to the bathroom. They heard someone shouting and the door closing. The lock clicked.

"Shit!" Will swore loudly, and they quickened their pace. Why did the bathroom seem so far away?

-Back in the bathroom-

"What the hell? Alex?" Tom asked in disbelief, covered in shampoo. Alex looked back, equally shocked.

"So...you're okay? Not murdered? Or kidnapped?"

Tom's mouth dropped open. "You broke into my guardian's house just to see if I was kidnapped? Why didn't you just call?"

"I tried, but you didn't answer."

They heard some swearing and the pounding of footsteps. Tom's eyes grew wide in sudden realisation. K-unit were heading this way... and Alex was here!

And he was naked!

"Alex!" he hissed, "go and hide!" He grabbed a towel and wrapped it around himself, ignoring the shampoo sliding off his hair and onto the floor. "Why?"

"Just do it! Get out of the damn house!"

"But you said it's safe!"

"I didn't!" It was definitely _not _safe for K-unit and Alex to be in the same house. Oh no, not safe at all. "Alex, please?"

"I want to meet your guardian!" _But I DON'T want you to meet my guardian! _Tom thought, cursing and swearing as he heard the doorknob jiggle.

"I'm fine!" Tom desperately called out. "Oh no you're not!" someone called back, but Tom knew it was Matt. Alex raised an eyebrow. That was _so _not MI6-agent-like at all.

"You've got guests?" Alex guessed. Tom glared at him. "Jump out of the window."

"Sorry?"

"You heard right. Jump out the bloody window before they break in! If they see you...I'm going to die. I'm stuck with a teenage boy, half-naked and sopping wet with shampoo in my hair. In the toilet. They are going to _FLIP."_

Alex grinned. "We can explain, can't we? He's MI6, so he should be privy to all this type of things."

Tom wanted to strangle him, but he couldn't, for the door burst open and Tom's eyes widened with horror.

Oh bloody hell.

The four SAS men stood at the door, tense and at guns pointed to Alex. Tom watched in apprehension, studying their faces. When he saw Alex's and Will's eyes go wide at the recognition of each other, Tom wanted to crawl in a hole and die. Chaos was going to ensue.

"Wolf?"

"CUB!" Will yelled. The rest of the unit's eyes also went wide at that word, and stood there, mouths agape at the revelation.

All five of them rounded on Tom.

"Explain." they growled simultaneously.

If it wasn't him on the receiving end of the glares from Alex and Will, he would have laughed at their synchronisation. Tom gulped.

And again: Oh shit.

In the next few minutes, Tom found himself thrown on the sofa by a fuming Alex. Will was eyeing Alex warily, and so was the other K-unit members. Carl and Matt, along with Wolf, had never seen Alex so angry when he came to Brecon Beacons to train. Jason had never seen Cub at all before, and certainly was not expecting this.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Alex hissed.

"But I-"

"You're not supposed to keep secrets from me, or lie to me! Best friends don't do that.." Alex sounded like a kicked puppy.

"Best friends?" Will asked in disbelief. "Tom, Cub is your-"

"Oh shut up, I haven't finished talking."

Silence. No one had ever told Will to shut up before (besides his parents of course), and Will looked ready to kill, but Alex ignored him.

"Why is everyone conspiring against me? I try my best to protect everyone around me, to keep Jack, to keep your parents from divorcing so you wouldn't turn out to be those depressed kids like Sam from school, and what do I get? Everyone lies to me!" Alex yelled. Everyone jumped at the sudden raise in volume.

"And these guys," at this Alex jerked his head towards K-unit's direction, "aren't exactly known for cuddling children." He glared at them all, and even Will shuffled his feet guiltly. The Sergeant had given them- or specifically him- a twenty-minute rant about bullying and possibly seriously injuring a minor.

Tom daren't look up at Alex. He really didn't know that it would affect him like that... he just didn't want Alex to relive the memories of his 'stay' at Beacons.

"I'm sorry. I really didn't know... I knew who these guys were, and I knew that it would bring bad memories, so I didn't..."

"I'm sorry for shouting too. I guess I wasn't thinking straight."

Someone cleared his throat, and Alex turned to glare at the person for ruining the moment, and came face-to-face with Ben.

"Ben!" he exclaimed.

Everyone's heads turned to look at the newcomer.

"Fox?" Matt asked incredulously. "How the bloody hell did you get in here? I didn't hear a thing!"

Ben rolled his eyes. "I'm a spy, for god's sake. And besides, Carl called me here."

"Why did you call Fox?" Will asked.

"Nothing...just thought maybe we could use a spy to save Tom." he said sheepishly.

"What the hell?" Tom exclaimed. "You wanted to use _Ben _to save me from _Alex. _Not a chance," he scoffed, "Alex would beat him in two seconds flat."

Will narrowed his eyes at the two teens. "No he wouldn't. Fox is a SAS-trained MI6 spy."

"Well, Alex is a SAS-trained MI6 _teenage _spy!" Tom cried out triumphantly.

Carl tripped and fell onto the floor, while Matt and Jason stared, mouth agape at Alex. Will was the funniest; he jerked backwards, fell over a chair and landed on some of the shampoo that Tom still had on him, but the situation was too serious for anyone to laugh. And besides, laughing at Will spelled a slow and painful death.

"A teenage spy?" Matt paled.

"You mean... Alex like _the Alex Rider_?" Jason breathed.

Alex snapped around fast enough to get whiplash, and Tom winced.

"How did you know?" he growled. Alan Blunt was going to die. Being pulled apart by German Shepherds was considered five star treatment compared to what Alex was imagining. Something about bayonet practice and giant elephants...

"My brother is Agent Crawley. I hear things. Like on the phone. It isn't hard to piece things together."

"Are you _serious?"_ Ben and Alex cried.

"Yeah... Why?"

Ben couldn't believe it. Jason was the complete opposite of Crawley. Crawley was an agent that sucked up to the superiors, hoping to be head when Jones and Blunt had left the business. Jason had a mind of his own, and was definitely not as cold as Crawley was. This was new. They didn't even know that Crawley had any siblings at all. Alex, however, refused to believe that such a good-looking person like Jason would have such an ugly brother like Crawley. He voiced this opinion, and Jason turned red while the rest just gawked at him.

"Are you gay, Alex?" Ben asked bluntly.

"No. I just find every chance I have to insult MI6, and anyone associated with it. Besides you of course. And no offence...um..."

"Jason. And none taken. I always knew I was the better looking one in the family." There was a few eye rolls.

"Aren't they your bosses? Aren't you worried they might fire you?" Alex snorted. "If _only_ they would fire me."

Everyone except Tom looked at him quizzically. "What do you mean?"

"Nothing," Alex replied nonchalantly. "So... I think Tom should get back into the shower. He'll catch a cold. And besides, he's staining your sofa."

Angry shouts rang out as a sneezing Tom shot out of the sofa and turned up the heat of the water.

"Oh yes," he sighed. "I think I'll stay here for a while."

He wasn't supposed to stay long, for Matt and Carl started banging the door, yelling at him how much time it took to save up for that sofa, and that he had ruined it. The door muffled their rant, of course, and over the lovely sound of the water and his own bad singing, he didn't hear a thing. So he didn't respond. So Matt went to hunt for his pranking stuff. And a lovely plan began to form in K-unit's, both former and current members, minds.

**Poor Tom! I've shed some light on Alex's emotional unstability, Ben's appearance and Tom's family situation! As I said before, there will be a big development coming up in the next few chapters. If you want me to add anything or include any other development, you can tell me:D Oh, do you guys want me to write about The Incident (Chapter Four) and Sandra Yeller's confrontation? The one that gave poor Carl his bruise? I'm up for the challenge, and actually know what to write about, but I need to know if you guys are interested. Do you want me to write more about Sandra too?**

**-Syd**


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